


TSN Kink Meme Prompt Ficlets - RPF

by twilight_shades



Series: The Social Network Kink Meme Prompt Ficlets [3]
Category: Social Network (2010) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Politics, Dimples, M/M, Oral Fixation, Possessive Behavior, Spooning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 00:40:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11566722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight_shades/pseuds/twilight_shades
Summary: 1) Andrew is possessive of Jesse. (Andrew/Jesse)2) Andrew is a very affectionate drunk.   (Andrew/Jesse)3) Armie is playful and Jesse is awkward and funny and then they have sex.  (Armie/Jesse)4) Andrew and everyone else are entranced with Jesse’s dimples.  (Andrew/Jesse)5) Jesse will put his lips around anything Andrew puts near his mouth.  (Andrew/Jesse)6) Armie is the little spoon to Jesse.  (Armie/Jesse)7) An AU in which Jesse is the son of the President attending college and Andrew is a Secret Service agent that’s part of his security.  (Andrew/Jesse)8) Companion piece to the above ficlet where Jesse as the son of the President and Andrew as a Secret Service agent (Andrew/Jesse)9) Five times Andrew said things he didn't mean to say out loud in front of Jesse, plus one time he reaped the benefits anyway.  (Andrew/Jesse)Full prompts in chapter summaries.





	1. Did You Want Me to Be?

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in 2011 to THE SOCIAL NETWORK KINK MEME [PARTS ONE - SIX] on [](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/profile) [**tsn_kinkmeme**](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/)
> 
> Disclaimer: Fiction based on observed public personas and wild speculation. Any resemblance to actual reality is completely coincidental.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/390.html?thread=800902#t800902): Andrew/Jesse. In which everyone on The Social Network set learns not to get too up close and personal with Jesse lest they face the wrath and death glare of possessive!Andrew.

“Jesus, what is up with Garfield?” Joe asks no one in particular as he plonks down at the table.

Josh and Armie look up from their hot wings with raised eyebrows, but Justin is on his phone and only does a sort half-nod of acknowledgement. Joe catches the waitress’s attention and orders whatever they have on tap.

“What’s wrong, Joe? Andrew being too nice for you, again?” asks Josh when Joe doesn’t immediately launch into a story after the waitress leaves.

“No, actually, he bit my head off. One minute he was being all gangly, goofy, giggly guy, the next, he’s practically throwing me out of Jesse’s room.”

Josh and Armie look at each other significantly.

“Hey, wait, what is that? You’re not actually twins, you know, no silent communication for you.”

“Did you touch him?” Justin suddenly joins the conversation. Joe hadn’t even noticed that he’d finished with his phone conversation and now he’s asking a weird question.

“Touch him? Touch Andrew? Do you mean, did I hit him? What-“

“No, dumbass. Did you touch Jesse?” Josh asks.

“What? No. Well, maybe I put my arm around him when I was trying to talk him into coming out tonight. But, I wasn’t being, like, whatever, I was just being friendly.”

Justin huffs out a laugh while Josh snorts.

“What?” Joe asks, exasperated.

“Dude, it doesn’t matter how you were touching him, just that you were touching him at all, or, hell, that you got anywhere near him at all. The other day, I grabbed ahold of Jesse’s arm and swear to God, Andrew almost slapped me away from him,” Armie says with a shrug.

“Yeah, I don’t know if the scenes we’re heading into are ratcheting it up or if he’s worried about what will happen when shooting ends, but Andrew’s kind of, hmm, insecure, no, jealous, wait, _possessive_ of Jesse right now,” Justin says.

“I think the scenes must have something to do with it because it’s the worst for Timberlake, here,” Josh says, Justin and Armie nodding along.

“Yeah, God forbid if I even speak to Jesse outside our scenes,” Justin says, rolling his eyes.

“So, why hasn’t anybody said anything?”

“Well, I don’t know about anybody else, but I kinda think it’s funny because Jesse is oblivious to what Andrew’s doing and Andrew is oblivious to why he himself is doing it,” Josh says.

“Hey, I think it’s kind of sweet and I was just waiting for them to figure it out for themselves. I think Andrew would find it embarrassing to have it pointed out to him. And, actually, Jesse would probably be embarrassed by not having noticed,” says Armie.

“See, now, you’re a much nicer person than me or Josh, because I’m totally with him – it’s funny to watch,” says Justin.

“God, I need a drink,” Joe says. And magically, the waitress is back with his beer.

~~~

“So, what was that, right there?” asks Jesse as he closes the door behind Joe.

“What?” Andrew asks.

“That with Joe. You were kind of, um, mean to him. And, you know, this isn’t the first time you’ve been not nice to other people.”

“I’m perfectly nice to everybody.”

“Usually, you are. But the last few days whenever someone… what, is around the two of us, no, whenever someone gets near _me_ , you get upset at them and then you hang all over me. It’s like, it’s like, oh.”

“What is it like?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

“No, it’s obviously something. So, what is it like?”

“It’s like you’re, um, defending your, um, territory,” Jesse stutters out.

“What, like a dog?” Andrew asks, looking confused and a little irritated.

“Not, not exactly.”

“Then, how, exactly?”

“As if, as if, well, as if you thought that I, as if I-“

“Spit it out, Jesse.”

“As if I belonged to you, as if I was yours.”

Andrew blinks at him, speechless, all big eyes and open mouth.

Jesse swallows and starts babbling, “Or, or, or maybe I’m wrong. I’ve been wrong before. In fact, I’m wrong quite often. Maybe you were just upset because Eduardo is upset. Or maybe I was just imagining things. Yeah, I was probably just imagining it. Sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“Jesse.”

“- said anything. I should have just-“

“Jesse!” Andrew shouts.

Jesse trails off into silence.

“You aren’t wrong.”

“What?”

“You aren’t wrong. I just didn’t realize until you said. I’m sorry. It’s just with the film and you being so, so, _you_ and us getting so close, so fast, I guess it kind of felt like you were. Mine, I mean. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything,” Andrew says and stares at the floor.

After a couple of moments of silence, Jesse licks his lips and asks, “Did you want me to be? Yours, not uncomfortable.”

Andrew looks up at him, eyes searching his face for something and apparently finding it, if the big, warm smile lighting up his face is any indication. “Yes, I did. I do. Do you want to be?”

Jesse nods and opens his mouth to say yes, and somehow, Andrew is right there, in his space. Andrew leans down slowly and softly presses a kiss to Jesse’s open mouth. It takes Jesse a second to kiss him back, but then he does and Andrew wraps his arms around him and deepens the kiss.

After a minute, Andrew pulls his head up a little, still close enough that Jesse can feel Andrew’s breath on his lips. “Mine?” Andrew asks.

“Yours.”


	2. Pettable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/390.html?thread=1054086#t1054086): Andrew/Jesse. Let's say Andrew is a very affectionate and handsy drunk. Can we get like some nuzzling and sappy drunkenness up in here please. <3

Some of the cast go afterparty hopping, riding on the high of the Globes. Jesse makes it through the first couple of parties, but slips away from the group after that and heads to his hotel room. He’s pretty tired and a little disappointed. It’s not that he really expected to win or anything and Colin Firth is a really good actor. Jesse really should watch his movie, but really, he’s intimidated enough. Of course, if he gets nominated for an Oscar it’ll be a thousand times worse. He wishes he could be as enthusiastic about it as Andrew. Although, Andrew’s probably getting as drunk as possible right now as he said he would be trying to forget his verbal missteps during the movie introduction. He must have said ‘inspiringly’ about a hundred times on the way to the first afterparty.

Jesse takes off his tie and jacket and hangs them up. He contemplates changing and just going to bed. But it’s not that late and for some reason it seems depressing. He settles for taking off his shoes and socks and untucking his shirt from his pants. He grabs a soda from the little fridge and settles on the couch in front of the TV. He could watch the one in front of the bed, but that would feel a little too much like wallowing. He’s not entirely sure why it matters, since he’d be the only one to know, except he does have a bad habit of just blurting out the truth when someone asks, which someone probably will.

He ends up flipping through channels. He stops on an infomercial for a few minutes. He’s weirdly fascinated by infomercials. The people in them are always so surprised and amazed when whatever product is being sold does what the host says it will. He takes a moment to think about what that might say about consumerism. The host is so positive and loud, as they always are. He wonders if there’s ever been a deadpan infomercial host. He could totally do that. That would be cool.

There’s a muffled thump on his door. He turns down the volume, gets up to go over to the door, and there’s another thump as he gets there. He looks through the peephole, but doesn’t see anyone. There’s another thump and a tiny part of Jesse’s brain suddenly starts running through any and all horror movie scenarios involving hotels. A more practical part of him thinks it might be a prank or possibly a small lost child. He opens the door and Andrew spills inside the room because he’d apparently been sitting on the floor, leaning back against the door.

“Were you… knocking on the door with your _head_?” Jesse asks

“Yes, yes, yes… yes, yes, I was.”

“You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, I am, yes.”

“And you really like the word ‘yes’.”

“Yes.”

Jesse takes a half-step into the hall, still holding the door open, and looks both ways. He pulls back in and looks at Andrew, lying on the floor, half in, half out of the room. “I thought you were with everybody else.”

“I was, but you weren’t. So, I came to find you. And look, here you are, yay.”

“Here I am.” Jesse hauls Andrew up off the floor, putting an arm around Andrew’s waist and pulling Andrew’s arm over his shoulders. Jesse gets him inside the room, letting the door close behind them. 

“You know, you are really strong – lifting me right off the floor and out of my seat,” Andrew says and pauses, then he starts singing, “I said your love, keep on, lifting me, higher and higher.”

Jesse stares at him not sure what to say. He half walks, half drags Andrew over the couch and nudges him down on it. Andrew kind of falls, all loose-limbed and floppy, on the couch. Andrew smiles at him, grabs his arm, and pulls Jesse down almost on top of him. Jesse leans forward to grab the remote, but Andrew pulls him back and wraps his arms around Jesse. Normally, Andrew is a bit of a toucher, always throwing an arm over Jesse’s shoulders, but this is a little excessive. Andrew seems to have acquired about four extra arms. 

“I’m really glad you’re my friend,” Andrew says as he moves one of his hands from Jesse’s back to the top of his head.

“Yeah, I, um… Are you… _petting_ me?”

“Yes, yes, you are very pettable. Like a cat. Like your cats. Your hair is very soft. I kind of miss your curls.” Andrew nuzzles his face into Jesse’s neck.

“I have literally no idea what to do now.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You should hug me back.”

“I don’t- okay.” Jesse tentatively puts his hands on Andrew’s back and kind of pats.

“See, isn’t that better.”

“Ever so much.”

Andrew pulls back and the hand on his head stops moving. He’s frowning a little. “Was that sarcasm?”

“A little.”

Andrew pulls back completely, crosses his arms, and honest to God pouts.

Jesse blinks and offers up a half-hearted, “Sorry.”

Andrew lights up with a big smile and says, “Forgiven.” And then he flops over to lay his head in Jesse’s lap and kicks his legs up on the armrest. He looks up at Jesse and says almost conspiratorially, “You know, I like you best.”

“Of what?”

Andrew sort of giggles and closes his eyes.

“Hey,” Jesse says.

No response.

“Did you just fall asleep on me?”

There’s nothing but a light snore in reply.

“We are going to talk about this in the morning and I will be making lots of jokes at your expense, just so you know.” Jesse sighs and grabs the remote, careful not to wake Andrew up. He turns up the volume a little and starts flipping through the channels. He tells the sleeping Andrew about his deadpan infomercial host idea and asks him why Golden Girls always seems to be on. He doesn’t get an answer to either, but he’s pretty sure the expression on Andrew’s face is an encouraging one, so he keeps making comments every so often.

Almost an hour later, Andrew sort of snorts himself awake, or half awake anyway. Jesse gets him to drink a glass of water and then tucks him into bed. He goes to sleep with a smile, thinking about how much fun tomorrow will be.


	3. Over a Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/1522.html?thread=1780210#t1780210): Armie/Jesse. I really don't care how it happens I just want adorable playful Armie and adorable awkward Jesse and sexytimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU with neither having a significant other.

Jesse usually hangs with Andrew or Justin or both at these afterparty things. But Andrew’s off with Carey and Justin’s been taken over by someone who Jesse doesn’t recognize, someone talking music and exuding power so maybe a music producer. Jesse is usually happy to sit back and interact with those that seek him out, but tonight, well, he’s just not.

Armie comes up and claps him on the shoulder. He smiles and says, “Come on, let’s get out of here.” 

Jesse doesn’t see why not and nods. They make their way out of the place, somehow avoiding the press still hanging around outside.

“Where are we going?” Jesse asks, mildly curious.

“Back to the hotel.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, you looked like you’d rather be anywhere else and I wasn’t really feeling it either after the last couple of nights.”

“Should we get a car?”

“Nah, we can walk. The hotel is only a couple of blocks up and this is a pretty tony area – I think we’ll be alright?”

“Tony? Does that mean people will suddenly break into song and dance? Or maybe they just start spouting Mamet?”

Armie laughs. “Okay, how about swank, does swank work for you?”

“Like Hilary? Like The Next Karate Kid or like Million Dollar Baby? People who know karate or boxers - either way it’s probably not someplace we want to be.”

“Don’t worry, I’m 6’5”-“

“Two-twenty and there’s two of you.”

“Well, no, just one this time.”

“You know, even though you play both roles, sort of, I always thought of you as the Good Twin.”

“Does that mean you thought of Josh as the Evil Twin?”

“There is no Evil Twin or even a Bad Twin, there’s just, you know, Good and Mad.”

Armie laughs delightedly. “I’m so telling Josh that.”

Jesse shrugs.

“Have you ever even seen either of those Hilary Swank movies?”

“Actually, I did see The Next Karate Kid. Probably not her finest work.”

“No movies, no TV. Does that mean that you aren’t going to watch a taping of the Saturday Night Live last night? Or wait, what about the interviews you’ve been doing?”

“I don’t need to watch them – I was there.”

“True and I guess it’s not like there were a zillion takes for those.”

“Yeah.”

They walk in silence for a few moments.

“I saw The King’s Speech,” Armie says, apropos of nothing.

“Yeah?”

“It was good, great even.”

“Well, good.”

“Good?”

“Yeah, it would suck if a bad movie were beating us out.”

“But if it was bad, then we could comfort ourselves with the fact that the awards committees know nothing.”

“ _We’re_ nominated for a bunch of awards by those awards committees.”

“Okay, point. Anyway, I saw it and I thought that your performance was better.”

“Not that you’re biased.”

“Not that I’m biased.”

And the hotel is just up ahead of them. Jesse is a little surprised that it actually was only a couple of blocks. “Huh, so why didn’t we walk over to the thing instead of being driven?”

Armie gives him a wry smile. “Because that’s the way it’s done here. And also, the press out here can be a little overzealous and it’s pretty easy for them to corner a walking celebrity.”

Armie walks Jesse up to his room. Just as Jesse’s about to go in, Armie says warmly, “Hey, Eisenberg. Seriously, your performance was amazing and deserves every bit of recognition it’s gotten and more.”

“Uh, wow, thanks. Do you, uh, want to come in?”

“Ah, so that’s the secret to getting invited in?”

“Yeah, flattery will get you everywhere,” Jesse says as he ushers him in and closes the door behind them.

“I can offer you a really expensive beverage from the minibar that would cost, like, three times less if I got it at a grocery store,” Jesse says.

“Are you trying to ply me with alcohol?”

“You could have a Diet Coke.” 

“I’m good.”

“We could watch TV if you wanted. I’m sure there’s a remote around here somewhere.”

“That’s okay,” Armie says and settles on the couch.

Jesse sits down next to him. “Well, I think that exhausts my go-to hospitality offerings.”

“All two of them.”

“I’m not really that hospitable,” Jesse deadpans.

“Maybe not, but you’re really funny.”

“People always say that like it’s the best compliment ever. Like I wouldn’t rather hear that I’m really good-looking, or charming, or talented, or kind. Funny is good, but not the best.”

“Maybe it’s because all of those other things are so obvious to the people around you, they don’t need to be said.”

“Wow, you are really good at this flattery thing, how did I not know this?”

“We’re not usually alone together.”

“So, you wouldn’t say it in public.”

“I would. It’s just Andrew always gets there before me.”

Jesse laughs.

“Hey, what about smart?”

“What about smart?”

“It’s not on your list.”

“Oh, it’s on my list. Just, people don’t always mean it as a compliment when they say it, so it ranks below funny.”

“Well, you are smart and that is a compliment. As a matter of fact I even associate your name with smart.”

“My name?”

“Sure. Eisenberg – it’s like Einstein and Spielberg put together.”

“Huh, okay. Let’s see now, Armie Hammer. See, your name is evocative of, like, Thor – with the hammer and the strength.”

“Thor, I like that. I would make an awesome Thor. I should talk to somebody about that.”

“Haven’t they already made a movie? That’s coming out soon?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“Andrew Garfield seems kind of presidential.”

“Kind of does. Timberlake just makes me think of a cabin somewhere.”

“Okay, this is a weird game, let’s change the subject.”

“Okay, I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“So, you may not watch interviews, but I do. I’ve watched quite a few of yours.”

“Uh huh.”

“So, Zoloft. Does it- Are you-“

“Does it affect my sex drive? It can. Am I impotent? No. Why? Did you want to have sex with me?” Jesse rattles off facetiously.

“See, I said you were smart.”

Jesse blinks at that because the words are teasing, but Armie’s tone and expression aren’t. “Seriously?”

Armie’s hand comes up and cups the side of his face. Armie leans down and kisses him, briefly but thoroughly. He pulls back and says, “Seriously.”

“Whoa.”

“Is that a no?”

“That’s just the sound of my brain catching up with reality. Can we try that again? I promise to participate more fully.”

Armie leans in again and this time Jesse meets him halfway. This kiss is deep and slow and breath-stealing. Armie pulls back and looks at Jesse for a second and then he shift his hands down to Jesse waist and pulls him over and onto his lap. Jesse looks at him, wide-eyed at the sudden change in position and finds his eyes are now pretty much on level with Armie’s. His lips are also on level, he realizes as Armie leans forward to kiss him again. Armie’s hands at his waist pull him more tightly to Armie and Jesse can feel how hard Armie’s dick is. Jesse grinds down a little, almost involuntarily, and Armie groans into the kiss. One Armie’s hands steals in between them, palming Jesse’s cloth covered dick. Jesse shivers as his dick goes from half-hard to full attention. 

Jesse pulls back, panting, and says, “Wait, wait.”

“What?”

“I, uh, don’t have many suits and my agent would kill me if I messed this one up.”

Armie opens his mouth and looks like he’s going to say something, but then shuts it again.

“What?”

“I was going to say: you’re worried about your suit? But then I realized that I have no objection to you getting out of it. I’ll even help.” With that Armie sets him on his feet, stands, and starts undoing Jesse’s tie. Between the two of them, they strip Jesse down to his boxers. Somewhere along the way, Armie sheds most of his own clothes. He stands there in boxer-briefs and his unbuttoned shirt and swears as he tries to undo his cufflinks. He gives up and comes over to Jesse.

Jesse offers, “I could-“ but cuts himself off as Armie leans down and licks at Jesse’s Adam’s apple. “Or not,” he says, in a slightly strangled voice as Armie scrapes his teeth softly over his neck.

They eventually make their way over to the bed, stumbling a little as Armie does his best to keep his lips in contact with some part of Jesse at all times. They end up on the bed in the same position they were on the couch, Armie sitting, Jesse on his lap. Jesse grinds down as Armie licks and sucks at his lips and jaw. Jesse grinds down hard, gasping, when Armie nips at his earlobe. Armie bites down on Jesse’s neck just below his ear and it’s like that spot is directly wired into his nerve center because he shudders and comes. Armie grinds up and lets out a strangled cry as he comes. Armie collapses back on the bed, Jesse going with him.

After a couple of minutes Armie asks, “Hey, you want to just do a quick clean up and go to sleep or do you want to shower?”

“Either is fine, I’m easy.”

Armie laughs a little.

“What?”

“Dude, you are so not. Seriously, it’s been over a year, _over a year_.”

“Wait, you wanted this, me, for-“

“Yeah, since about two weeks after I met you.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah,” Armie says rolling Jesse off of him. He stands up and holds out his hand. “Come on.”

Jesse raises his eyebrows.

“Shower.”

“Oh, with- Oh, yeah, okay.”


	4. The Smile He Loves Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/1522.html?thread=2360050#t2360050): Eduardo/Mark or Andrew/Jesse. Anything involving Jesse/Mark's dimples. Like idk, people making him laugh or tickling him or something because they find it funny-cute that he has these enormous dimples. Because c'mon, Dustin and Chris totally would. And Eduardo would find it all too endearing and sweet for words. And challenge himself to make Mark smile as often as possible. Or fill in Jesse for Mark and Andrew for Eduardo, and it could be set shenanigans and everyone trying to make Jesse giggle because he looks all boyish with his dimples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Happy](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11566344/chapters/25985958) is the Eduardo/Mark version (TSN Kink Meme Prompt Ficlets - Eduardo/Mark, Chapter 8).

It’s the Rube-Goldbergesque thing that happens with the props that causes it. A laugh just kind of burbles up out Jesse and even after he stops, he still has this smile and _dimples_ that give him a child-like look of delight. Andrew could swear that the whole cast and crew is as enchanted by it as he is.

They’ve mostly been rehearsing and focusing in on their characters. Jesse had seemed really intense and serious, not grim, but not exactly playful. Of course, as Jesse had gotten more comfortable with everyone, he’d seemed to lighten up. And while Jesse’s dry, deadpan humor had cracked people up, Andrew had only ever seen him with a slight amused grin.

Now that Andrew’s seen Jesse with a full-on smile, one that just lights up his face, Andrew must see it again. Apparently, everybody else feels the same way. Armie has a straight-forward plan of attack: tickling. Josh and Max have the largest store of the most awful knock-knock jokes that Andrew’s ever heard. Joe apparently knows every dirty limerick ever. And Justin, Justin’s Kayne impressions are hilarious. Andrew tries anything and everything with varying degrees of success. 

Jesse seems rather bemused by most of their antics. But when something works, and that smile appears, everybody wins. Andrew, though, becomes the tiniest bit obsessed by it, especially as filming goes on and Jesse starts to take a little longer to shake Mark’s stoicism.

Jesse doesn’t say much in the car after a long day of filming and everything that Andrew tries to cheer him up with is met with a noncommittal sound. So, when they get back to their shared living quarters, Andrew steps it up a notch. Andrew’s halfway through one of the most absurd stories he’s ever told in his life when Jesse stops him and asks, “Alright, seriously, what the hell is going on?”

“What are you talking about?”

“This, this, you with the stories. And Justin. And Armie and Joe and everybody else. I swear, Katie from catering is arranging my food into vaguely pornographic shapes because it makes me laugh.”

“Vaguely pornographic? Like what? Like-“

“Not important. It’s beginning to feel like the whole set is conspiring against me, but I can’t figure out to what purpose. To see me laugh? Why? And people are watching all the time. Now, I have more than my fair share of paranoia – it tends to work very well alongside my anxiety, but I don’t think this is all in my head.”

Andrew is caught flatfooted. He hadn’t thought that any of it would bother Jesse. But, thinking about it now, he realizes that while Jesse likes attention, an excess of it, even if it is positive, does tend to make him anxious.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Andrew says, upset.

“Sorry for what? Making me laugh? You don’t have to be sorry. I just want to know why.”

“It’s your, when you’re happy, you just have this, this _smile_.”

“I was under the impression that a smile was the accepted way to show that.”

“It is, just yours is, well, honestly, it’s just kind of… almost unbearably adorable.”

Jesse looks like he has no idea how to take that. “What?”

“You know, with your dimples. It’s just so… precious.”

Jesse blushes.

“Yeah, that’s kind of cute, too.”

“Please, please, stop talking.” And now, Jesse’s got his hands on his cheeks, maybe trying to hide his blush or where his dimples would be or both.

“I really didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Andrew reaches out and gently grasps Jesse’s wrists. He pulls them down and keeps hold of them. “I know compliments are hard for you, but I really didn’t mean to.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They’re quiet for a moment, just standing there. Then Jesse gets a thoughtful look on his face followed by a weirdly amused half-grin. “What?” Andrew asks.

“Nothing.”

“No, no, see, that wasn’t nothing.”

“I just remembered that this girl that I dated really liked them, too.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, and she found a way to get me to smile. She used to-“ Jesse breaks off abruptly.

“She used to what?”

“Yeah, no. I’m not going to tell you.”

“Why not? Come on, Jess, I’ve been doing my damnedest to make you smile and if there’s a surefire way, I want to know what it is.”

“She was a girl that I _dated_.”

“So?”

“How are you not getting this? There are some things you do with people that you date that you don’t usually do with friends.”

“Oh, a _sex_ thing, huh?”

Jesse’s hands twitch and Andrew wonders if he wants to cover his face again, but Andrew doesn’t let go.

“Yes.”

“Oh, well, I would’ve tried sex ages ago, if I thought you’d go for it.”

“What? Sex? With me?” Jesse practically squeaks.

“Hello? It’s not like I haven’t been completely obvious about it.”

“I though you just- We’re friends. You were being friendly.”

“Well, yes, that too. I want both. I want to be the friend you tell everything to and I want to be able to hold you and kiss you and see you naked and make you come. It’s not like it _has_ to be one or the other.”

As the silence starts to stretch into awkwardness, Andrew reluctantly lets go of Jesse’s wrists. Andrew’s getting ready to tell Jesse to just forget anything was said and beg him not to let it affect their friendship. And Jesse, sarcasm aside, is a real sweetheart and will probably do his best.

Jesse suddenly says, “There’s this, this place, spot that if you run a finger really lightly over it, I, like, automatically do this little laugh-smile thing. It’s on-“

“Wait!”

“I thought you wanted-“

“I do. I do. But could I- I would really like to find it on my own. If that’s okay with you?” Andrew asks a little shyly.

Jesse blinks and then nods slowly. “That would- You could do that.”

Andrew smiles and grabs Jesse’s wrist and drags him off to his bedroom.

~~~

It turns out, there’s more than one spot. The one high up on the inside of Jesse’s left thigh gets that laugh-smile and it’s awesome. There’s a spot on his left side, just below his ribs, that makes his lips twitch into a lopsided grin which shows his left dimple. The spot just behind his right ear gets a wide smile. And Andrew adores them all. But the smile he really loves best is the contented one Jesse has when he drifts off to sleep when Andrew’s holding him.


	5. Mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/3654.html?thread=3693894#t3693894%0A): Andrew/Jesse. Something based on this gif: <http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leo2wxwJTh1qzdfku.gif>. Idk. Idk. Maybe something about how Jesse will put his lips around anything Andrew puts near his mouth.

It starts with Andrew’s pinky. He doesn’t even know why he puts it right up to Jesse’s lips. He just feels giddy and playful and happy to be around Jesse. And when Jesse goes to take it in his mouth, Andrew just finds it ridiculously amusing, like he finds so much of what Jesse says or does. 

Then, when Andrew taps a pen against Jesse’s lips it gets the same response. There’s a stylus and a straw and a chopstick. Andrew thinks it’s all funny until he’s shushing Jesse with a finger pressed to his lips and Jesse opens his mouth and sucks his fingertip right in. And it’s like Andrew’s finger is attached to every nerve ending in his body and this weird noise, halfway between a whimper and a whine, makes it out of his mouth. He pushes his finger in a little more and Jesse’s gaze meets his, blue eyes gone dark. Just like that, Andrew’s completely hard. Jesse’s sucks a little harder and Andrew shudders. Jesse’s eyes flick down Andrew’s body and then flick back up to Andrew’s eyes.

Jesse raises an eyebrow, asking something, but Andrew’s head is a little too muddled to understand. Jesse licks along Andrew’s finger and then sucks it deeper into his mouth. Andrew’s eyes flutter shut, only to pop open when he feels hands at his waistband. Jesse gets Andrew’s pants undone and pushes them and his underwear down. Jesse slowly kneels. He pulls his mouth away from Andrew’s finger.

“Yeah?” Jesse asks.

“Y-y-yes, God, yes,” Andrew stammers out, not quite believing this is happening.

Jesse mouths at the head of his dick, almost teasingly. Then he sucks it in. Andrew puts his hands on Jesse’s face, stroking his thumbs over Jesse’s cheeks. Jesse swirls his tongue around the head and Andrew wishes he was near a wall because he’s not sure his legs will hold. He watches Jesse. And Jesse’s really focused. He moves to take in more and sucks more strongly. It’s going to be so difficult to watch Jesse as Mark. Jesse likes to have something in Mark’s mouth in a lot of scenes and Andrew’s pretty sure David will notice if Eduardo just stares. Jesse pulls back a little and plays his tongue over that spot just under the head of Andrew’s dick. Andrew can feel it building, he’s going to come any second now. A thought occurs to him.

“Wait, wait, stop please,” Andrew says.

Jesse pulls back, off. “What? Did you not want-“

“We haven’t even kissed yet.”

“Oh,” Jesse says and smiles a little bashfully.

Andrew pulls him up and into a kiss. And, damn, Jesse kisses well too. It’s all deep and hot and a little rough and perfect. And when Jesse sucks Andrew’s lower lip into his mouth, Andrew can’t help it, he comes. He holds onto Jesse to keep from falling. When he can feel all of his limbs again, he straightens up.

Andrew gestures to Jesse and asks, “Can I, um, help you with anything?”

Jesse looks at him for a second and then says, “Oh. No, it’s, with the Zoloft, sometimes I don’t, even when I really, really like something. I’m good.”

“Oh. Can I, can I, like, try later?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, you can.”

“And maybe again tomorrow?”

“Wha-“

“And maybe the day after that, too?”

Jesse laughs a little. “And the day after that?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m thinking yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

And in a minute, Andrew will get himself and Jesse cleaned up, but right now it’s really nice just standing here, the two of them smiling at each other. Andrew smiles a little more as he starts to plan for later. He’s thinking finger foods, things he can feed to Jesse by hand, like cherries. Oh, and maybe dipping chocolate. And maybe they can find some other things to put that chocolate on.


	6. How Things Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/3654.html?thread=3887942#t3887942): Armie/Jesse. Armie is the little spoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kind of became a little Jesse/Armie/Elizabeth. But it is more of a Armie/Jesse, Armie/Elizabeth, Elizabeth & Jesse type threesome and not much more than a mention.

Elizabeth pulls Jesse aside at a party and says, “I hope you consider it.”

Jesse has no earthly idea what she’s talking about. “Consider it?”

“I like you a lot and Armie adores you.”

Jesse blushes and mumbles, “Thanks.”

“I just want you to know, to assure you that this works for us. Armie and I love each other, but don’t limit each other.”

Jesse must look as confused as he feels because she looks at him and asks, “Has Armie talked to you?”

He shakes his head.

“Oh no. I’m so sorry. Just remember what I said when he does, okay?”

Jesse gives her a bewildered nod and then Andrew comes up and sweeps him away.

~~~

Jesse finds a quiet alcove just to take a breath. He likes people and these people in particular, but sometimes it gets to be all too much. He leans his head against the wall and closes his eyes.

“Hey,” says Armie’s voice softly.

Jesse blinks his eyes open and smiles up at Armie. “Hey.”

“I can go if you want to be alone.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Elizabeth said she talked to you.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure what it was about.”

“Yeah, she jumped the gun a little bit. So… okay, I love my wife.”

Jesse can’t figure out where this is going. “That’s good, right?”

“No, I mean yes, it’s good, but it’s just a preface.”

“To what?”

“I like you.”

“So your wife said. Well, actually she said you adored me, but I’m sure she was just being hyperbolic.”

“No, she’s right. I do adore you, you are adorable.”

This time when Jesse blushes, it’s hot and fierce and he wants to cover his face.

“No, look, Jesse, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Armie sighs. “Okay, here’s the thing. Elizabeth and I have an open marriage. If one of us likes someone else, we’re free to pursue that person. We always tell each other.”

Jesse closes his mouth, which had somehow dropped open. His eyes have gone wide with surprise so he blinks a couple of times. “Oh,” he says as he finally finds his voice. At least the blush has died down.

“Now, I know a lot of people don’t want to get involved with someone who’s already in a relationship, regardless of how the relationship works, so I’ll completely understand if you say no. There’s no pressure and no hard feelings.”

Jesse has so many thoughts tumbling around in his head that he’s having a hard time picking out anything to say. And then, somehow, he blurts out, “Do you get a veto?” and can’t believe he asked. “Wait, no, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. Why did I ask that?”

Armie laughs. “No, it’s fine. And actually, we do. I don’t think anybody’s ever asked me that before. Trust me, if Elizabeth wasn’t okay with you, I never would have said anything.”

“Do you do this- No, that’s none of my business.”

“Do I do this often? No, I’ve done it once before.”

“It’s a little, uh, uh, it’s-“

“Unconventional, I know. You can say no. I promise I won’t think any less of you. I’ll probably pine a little.”

“Pine? Are we in a period drama?”

Armie smiles. “No, but I’m outrageously sentimental sometimes and you’re worth pining over.”

Jesse squirms a little and his cheeks heat yet again.

“Sorry,” Armie says, not sounding that apologetic.

Jesse wills the blush away. “If I, if we, uh, what exactly would we, um, what would you want out of it?”

“As much or as little as you’re willing to give me.”

“I don’t, I’m not sure what that means.”

“It means that I’m okay with just holding your hand. Or if you just want to cuddle. I am excellent at it – although, I’m warning you now, I like to be the little spoon.”

“Oh, um, really?”

“Yep. Just because I’m taller doesn’t mean I always have to be the holder, sometimes I like to be the holdee.”

“Alright, yeah. Sorry, didn’t mean to be, like, heightist or anything.”

“The trials I have been made to suffer, lo these many years.”

Jesse laughs. He really likes that about Armie. A lot of people just laugh when he makes a joke, but Armie will usually roll with it, make it bigger. “Compact cars, low doorways, and other stuff, I’m sure.”

“Always being asked to reach things on high shelves, change light bulbs, hang things. It’s tragic really.”

Jesse snorts out a laugh and then gets back to the matter at hand. “So, just cuddling then?”

“If that’s all you want. I would very much like to kiss you. I would very much like to make love with you. I would very much like to have hot, dirty, tear-your-clothes-off, lick-you-everywhere sex with you. Any of it, all of it,” Armie says.

It’s really hard to think with the images in his head. “Would, would it- just tonight? Or, I mean, just one time?”

“Oh. Well, if that’s what you would be willing to give me, I’d take it.”

“Did you want more?”

“Like I said, as much or as little. But, yes, I’d like more.”

“Like what?”

“Days, week, months. Until one of us doesn’t want to anymore.”

“Hmm.”

“I know it’s… different. And I know it can be a little hard to wrap your head around.”

“Yes.”

“If you want to think about it before deciding anything, that’s fine.”

Maybe thinking about it is a good idea, it’s a lot to process. On the other hand, if he thinks about it too much, he’ll say no, even if he wants to say yes. And he’s beginning to realize that he does want to. He wants to try anyway. “I can be really insecure. And it’s possible that my insecurity will get the better of me at some point. But we can try this.”

“Is that a yes, then?”

Jesse swallows and says, “Yes.”

Armie whoops, actually whoops, and sweeps Jesse up in a hug. Then he pulls back and asks, “Okay, yes to what exactly?”

“Yes to, um, everything, I guess. But maybe start with the cuddling and go from there?”

“We can totally do that.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, I’m going to go find Elizabeth and tell her that I’m taking you back to your hotel room and tell her that she doesn’t have to worry that she somehow scared you off by talking to you before I could.”

“She was worried?”

“Yes, strangely, she likes it when I’m happy.”

“No, yeah, of course she does,” Jesse says. It’s weird to think of himself as someone who could make someone else happy. He’s pretty good at making other people laugh, but making them happy seems trickier.

Armie points at him and says, “Stay right here. I’ll be back in two minutes. Please don’t change your mind.”

Jesse nods and Armie leaves the alcove. Jesse calls Andrew. When Andrew answers, he says, “I think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Jesse? Where are you?”

Jesse sticks his head out of the alcove and finds Andrew. Andrew sees him and starts to head over. Jesse ducks back in the alcove. “No, don’t come over here. I can’t tell you this with you right here, looking at me.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“I’m maybe, sort of, dating Armie.”

“He’s kind of married.”

“Yes, but they have this, this thing. Arrangement. An open marriage.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, are you okay with that?”

“I think so.”

“And do you want to sort of date Armie?”

“I- yeah.”

“Well, then, I don’t think you’ve lost your mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“As much as I can be.”

“Okay.”

“I like Armie. He’s a good guy. But tell him if he hurts you, I will kick his ass. I’m Spiderman, I can do it.”

“Andrew…”

“Seriously.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Armie gets back as he disconnects. “Hey, ready to go?”

Jesse bites his lip and nods.

~~~

They get up to Jesse’s hotel room and Jesse opens the door. He waves Armie in and follows, closing the door behind them. Jesse fidgets, not sure what to do. He watches as Armie takes off his jacket and drapes it over a chair back, then pulls his tie loose and throws it over his jacket. He turns and smiles at Jesse.

“You could take yours off, too,” Armie says.

“Yeah, yeah, I could do that.” Jesse jerkily pulls off his jacket and tie and puts them on a chair. They slither off again and Jesse puts his hand over his face.

“Hey,” Armie says.

Jesse pulls his hand down and looks at Armie. Armie has apparently picked up Jesse’s jacket and tie and put them back on the chair. Armie takes hold of his arm and tows Jesse over to the couch. Armie pushes him down on the couch and grabs the remote from the TV stand. Armie sits down next to Jesse and puts an arm around his shoulders.

“What are we doing?” Jesse asks.

“Well, we’re going to sit here and watch TV until you relax a little and stop looking like you’re going to jump out of your skin.”

“I’m pretty sure we can’t do that. I think they have a convention in the hotel in two weeks. They’ll probably want the room then.”

Armie laughs and shakes his head. He turns on the TV and clicks through the channels. “Oh, here we go.”

“What is this? Is that Kim Cattrell? She’s supposed to be Egyptian?”

“Yeah, not the biggest suspension of disbelief you’ll have to make.”

“Mannequin?”

“Yeah, it’s ridiculous, but cute.”

“Okay.”

“Shush and watch,” Armie says.

“Is that James Spader?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.”

A few minutes later, Jesse asks, “Wait, she’s a mannequin who comes to life?”

“Hence the title.”

“But-“

“No, see, you can’t watch it expecting logic.”

A few minutes later, somewhat against his will, Jesse is drawn in. And he does start to relax. Armie pulls him closer. By the end, he’s leaning against Armie. The ending makes him smile.

“Okay, that wasn’t terrible,” Jesse says as the credits roll.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Armie says and kisses him on the temple.

Jesse turns his face to Armie and tilts his chin up. Armie takes it for the invitation it is. Armie kisses Jesse, softly, sweetly. Armie reaches for the remote and powers off the TV.

Armie stands up and holds out his hand, “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Jesse puts his hand in Armie’s and lets him pull him up. They walk over to the bed. Armie sits down and takes off his shoes and socks and Jesse follows suit.

“I usually just wear underwear to bed,” Armie says.

“Oh, I usually wear a t-shirt and shorts.”

“You should change, then.”

Jesse grabs his sleep clothes from the dresser and goes into the bathroom to change. When he gets back, Armie is already in the bed, under the covers. All the lights are off, except for the bedside lamp. Jesse climbs in next to him and turns off the lamp.

“Okay, this is a little weird,” Jesse says.

“Is it too weird? If it is, I can leave.”

“No, it’s not too weird. It’s not even a bad weird.”

“So, weird is like witches – it’s a good weird or a bad weird?” Armie asks, a laugh in his voice.

“Well, no, there’s also a weird weird.”

“Oh, well, of course.”

Jesse scoots over closer to Armie and nudges his shoulder.

“What?”

“You said you like being the little spoon.”

“Yes, yes I did. And I do.” Armie turns over onto his side, his back to Jesse.

Jesse scoots up against his back and puts his arm around Armie. Armie puts his arm over Jesse’s.

“This is nice,” Armie says.

Jesse smiles. “Yes, it is.”

They’re silent for a few moments. “I’m really glad you said yes,” Armie says quietly.

“Me too.”

~~~

Somehow, it works and it keeps working. Jesse develops a really good friendship with Elizabeth. Something deep and steeped in affection. And the thing between him and Armie becomes something more. Armie and Elizabeth enmesh Jesse in their lives. So much so that, occasionally, they invite him to watch them together. And it’s exciting and more intimate than he’s expecting. Sometimes, Elizabeth watches Armie with Jesse and it’s even better. Jesse and Elizabeth never get much beyond cuddling, but it works, for them.

It takes Jesse a long time to fully relax and believe they won’t get tired of him. And he’s not sure what he’ll do if they ever want someone else. He finally decides that he’ll figure out a way to deal with it if it happens. Once he decides that, Jesse finds that he’s happy. And, sometimes, he even gets to be the little spoon.

 

Small extra:

The first time they end up hot, dirty, lick-you-everywhere sex, they’re in the shower. And Armie really does lick Jesse everywhere. He licks every drop of water from Jesse’s skin. Jesse almost kills himself a few minutes later by slipping, but Armie catches him. They end up against the wall, Jesse’s legs wrapped around Armie’s waist as Armie thrusts into him. Armie watches his face the entire time. And it’s not supposed to be this way, it’s not supposed to make Jesse feel so much, so much that he has to blink back tears.

Afterwards, Jesse feels so raw and open and _vulnerable_ , he can’t handle it. So, he goes and hides from Armie. And Armie lets him. For three days. Then Armie comes to fetch Jesse. Jesse can’t help but throw an accusatory glare at Andrew. Jesse had been lulled into complacency by the fact that Andrew hadn’t even asked what the problem was, just let him stay.

Andrew shrugs and says, “He actually called me before you showed up to say you might show up.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll just, uh, go to my bedroom,” Andrew says and leaves the room.

“So, hi. What have you been up to? I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to be patient and give this guy I care about the space he needs. But I really not a patient guy,” Armie says with a crooked smile.

Jesse looks at Armie and summons his courage. “I didn’t expect it to mean this much,” he says softly.

“Is that a bad thing? For it to mean a lot?”

“Not necessarily. Not until it ends. It just, it just got… real.”

“If it helps, it’s never not meant a lot to me. It’s always been real for me.”

“Really?”

“Really. You want to get out of here? Get something to eat?”

“Okay,” Jesse says. He yells out a goodbye to Andrew, who yells one back. 

They leave Andrew’s place. Jesse takes Armie’s hand in his own on the elevator down. Armie smiles. Jesse smiles back.


	7. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/4426.html?thread=7137098#t7137098%0A): [RPF] Andrew/Jesse, bodyguard!Andrew. Something along the lines of Jesse being the son of the President and attending college. And while he does have the uniformed agent!Smith type of bodyguards, Andrew is the additional level of protection, posing as another college student. Very Chasing Liberty, but I want Jesse to know of Andrew's duties. Bonus points for Emma as Andrew's long-suffering partner, posing as a student herself and missing being able to carry guns, or something.

Jesse has always know being the son of a politician means he’s in the media’s glare. He’s never liked it. He doesn’t know why people find the private lives of politicians so fascinating, but they do. When Jesse’s small and his father is elected mayor, a reporter sneaks onto the property and starts taking pictures, startling and scaring Jesse so much that he runs and hides underneath his bed.

It gets better when his father is elected as a U.S. Representative. There are a lot of them and the press doesn’t pay that much attention to them or their families. That is, until near the end of his father’s third term when his father leads the charge on a big insurance bill and his name is bandied about for higher offices.

When Jesse’s fifteen, a reporter asks how he would feel if his father ran for President. Jesse smiles and says it would be great and he wonders if she can tell that he’s lying. It’s not that he doesn’t think his father can do it or that he wouldn’t be proud of him, it’s just, Jesse doesn’t want the spotlight to be any brighter than it already is. His father does actually start to ask Jesse if it would be okay if he runs, but they’re interrupted so Jesse tells him to go on and do what he needs to. Jesse would like to believe he would say the same thing if his father had finished asking. So it comes to be, a month after Jesse turns seventeen, his father is elected President.

Jesse hates it. He hates it. The kids at school stare and whisper. There are Secret Service agents around all the time. The press asks him all kinds of questions, which is awkward, so he deflects with humor, thinking they’ll stop asking if they don’t get straight answers. It backfires spectacularly – the press loves him and his humor and can’t seem to get enough. His father is so proud and all Jesse can think about is graduating and going away to college.

He applies all over the country and is accepted everywhere because he’s got great SAT scores, great grades, and, oh yeah, he’s the son of the President. He decides he wants to go to a big school, somewhere he can get lost. He narrows it down to USC and NYU. He needs to make a decision so that they can start making arrangements.

He decides on NYU. The university is very accommodating. Jesse is going to have two very young, very new agents that will be officially registered as students ‘auditing’ all of Jesse’s courses. The public won’t know that they’re agents. One of them will be his roommate in a high security apartment building, the other will be down the hall. Another detail of agents, the ones the public will know about, will be across the hall and will follow Jesse on campus.

His father asks Jesse if he wouldn’t rather go to Georgetown or GWU. His father jokes about how it would make things easier, but it’s not that much of a joke. Jesse can’t tell him how much he wants to get away. Jesse doesn’t hate his father. He thinks it would be easier if he did. Jesse loves him and is proud of him and respects him. And he wants his father to be proud of and respect Jesse. He knows his father loves him. But it feels like his father has a picture of Jesse in his head and he doesn’t see the real Jesse. Like the picture is just the better parts of Jesse. Like he never sees the neurotic, needy, resentful parts. Jesse wants to come first with his father, before his job. Not all the time, just sometimes. Just, every once in awhile, it would be nice if Jesse’s feelings came before everything else.

~~~

Jesse meets his new agents a week before they head up to New York. They are… not quite what he was expecting. Of course, he’s not entirely sure what he was expecting. But they certainly don’t seem like the other agents he’s been around. Agent Garfield, Andrew, has an English accent, for one thing. And Agent Stone, Emma, is one of the most sarcastic people he’s ever met. And they are both much younger than his previous agents. Emma is twenty-three and Andrew is twenty-four, but they both look several years younger.

Jesse gets the talk that he’s had with every agent that’s been assigned to him. They are only for his protection, they are not there to police his actions, they are not there to report his actions to his father, they are not there to tell his father anything that he says, they want his trust. It’s not that Jesse doesn’t want to trust them, it’s just, his father is pretty much their ultimate boss. So he smiles politely at them and agrees. Emma and Andrew exchange looks. Maybe these ones can read him a little better than his previous agents.

Soon, it’s time to leave for New York. It’s actually a little harder than Jesse thought to say goodbye to his parents and he’s quiet on the way up. He meets his other detail at the apartment building. They’ve been in New York for a little while, getting everything set up. Just being in New York, where he grew up, Jesse feels freer somehow.

~~~

Having a roommate is odd. Andrew is nice and really kind of happy all the time, but Jesse’s never really shared a living space with someone who isn’t family. Emma’s over a lot, too. It’s good that she and Andrew seem to get along so well, Jesse always feels a little guilty for even having to have people around to protect him.

Andrew usually sits beside him in class while Emma has a seat with the best vantage point, but occasionally they switch. He likes them both very much, although he feels stifled sometimes. For the first few weeks, other students stare and whisper and then it gradually dies off. Jesse’s so glad. Even his obvious detail only merits the occasional comments and sideways looks.

Jesse meets a few classmates that he would actually call friends. There’s Joe, who has the wackiest sense of humor, Armie, who is so very handsome and kind, and Justin, who’s a weirdly charming grad student that likes to show up at whatever class catches his whim. And their friends, Max, Josh, Rooney, Patrick, and Brenda, seem to accept Jesse, and Andrew and Emma, into their circles as well. Jesse’s never had the knack of making friends that easily, so he’s both elated and little dubious. But he decides to go with the flow, for once. And maybe it has something to do with Andrew and Emma being around all the time, people seem naturally attracted to them.

~~~

It’s weird, all of the Secret Service agents he’s had so far, not that there have been that many, have been polite and friendly to a point. But there was always a sort of distance, a professional detachment. That doesn’t seem to exist with Emma and Andrew. Jesse has to remind himself that they are still just doing their job. Maybe they do like him for himself, but they _have_ to be around him. It’s kind of a self-esteem killer.

Emma or Andrew always tag along with him everywhere and mostly Jesse doesn’t mind. Except, he’s pretty sure he’s going to have to stay a virgin for the time being. It’s not that they’re not willing to make accommodations. In fact, there was a very awkward conversation about it. But, well, he’s already got self-confidence issues and the thought of other people having to make arrangements so that he can have sex is kind of repugnant. And one of them will have to be nearby, if not in the apartment, then right outside. What if he makes noises? The whole thing is so off-putting and embarrassing to think about.

~~~

Jesse’s friends take him out for dinner on his birthday. He supposes that eighteen is kind of big. He doesn’t feel any different. He doesn’t feel adult. But he does feel almost happy. That lasts for maybe a couple of hours. Then Joe kind of gets him off alone. Both Emma and Andrew can see him, but they’re out of earshot, so Jesse’s not worried.

“Hey, Jesse, I just wanted to talk to you for a second,” Joe says.

“Okay.”

“I just wanted to let you know that we’re all cool.”

Jesse doesn’t quite know what that means. “Um, what?”

“I mean, with you and Andrew.”

“What?”

“You know, you can hold hands and kiss and stuff.”

Jesse is bewildered, to say the least. “We can?” And he doesn’t know why he said that.

“Yeah, it’s alright. We know. It’s kind of obvious.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, he’s with you all the time. He’s really protective. He’s always got a hand on you. He’s always watching you, but not like in a creepy way. He always talks about you when he’s not right next to you. He looks at you like you’re the most precious thing ever. And then, there’s you. You lean into to him and look around for him when he’s not right there. And you kind of light up when he smiles at you.”

“I do?”

“We all kind of figured you were keeping it quiet because of, you know, your father.”

“My father doesn’t care.” And why did Jesse say that? Now Joe’s going to think he’s confirmed it. Jesse supposes he’s just a little defensive. His father does know that he likes both boys and girls and he doesn’t care. Or well, he’d said it didn’t matter, even if he did look a little worried.

“That’s cool, but I bet his opponents might want to use it against him somehow and so I just wanted to let you know that we won’t talk to anybody about it or anything. It just seems kind of sad that you can’t, you know, kiss your own boyfriend.”

“That’s really sweet, Joe, but I’m not- We aren’t-“

“Oh, well, Armie said you might just be private and all. I didn’t mean that you have to do anything in front of us, just that you could. Just so you know.”

“Thanks, but-“

“No problem,” Joe says with a smile. Justin shouts for him and Joe walks away.

“Wait…” But it’s too late. Wonderful. Jesse’s pretty sure they’ll never believe he and Andrew aren’t going out. Unless he tells them the truth. And now he feels horrible about that because he’s essentially been lying to them. Yeah, it’s for his protection, but it’s also so he can have a more normal life. If he tells them, they’ll feel like they’ve been deceived, which they have been.

~~~

Andrew keeps giving him looks on the way back to the apartment. They leave Emma at her apartment down the hall. They get to their apartment and Andrew checks everything and then calls Emma and lets her know everything is good and they’re in for the night.

After he hangs up, Andrew asks, “Is something wrong, Jesse?”

“What, why?”

“You got really quiet after Joe talked to you. Did he say something to upset you?”

“No, no, not exactly. He just…”

“What?”

“He thinks we’re together.”

“He what?”

“He thinks you’re my boyfriend because you’re always around and protective. And I sort of, um, accidentally confirmed it.” Jesse’s cheeks are burning.

“How did you- Never mind. Did you want me to talk to him? I’m sure I could clear it up.”

“I should be the one to tell him. I just, he’s going to hate me.”

“Why would he hate you?”

“I’ve been lying to him. To everyone.”

“We would rather you didn’t tell him, or anyone, that I’m Secret Service. It would just make our jobs harder. But even if you did decide to, I’m sure he would understand.”

“I don’t think he’ll believe me unless I tell the truth. And it’s not fair to you.”

“I don’t mind if people think I’m your boyfriend, it makes my constant presence that much more plausible. It just doesn’t leave you with a whole lot of options if you want to date anyone.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“Why not? I mean, goodness knows you’re lovely. You’re smart and funny and quite attractive. Frankly, I don’t see why you’re not beating them off with a stick,” Andrew says.

Jesse feels like he’s blushing all over. “You, uh, you don’t have to say that,” he chokes out.

“I know I don’t. I’m saying it because it’s true. I’ll tell you something that I really shouldn’t, if I was a couple of years younger and not with the Service, well I would probably be writing you horrible haiku to get you to notice me and give me a chance.”

“Haiku?”

“Hmm, yes. That’s what I did when I was at university to get someone’s attention. _The sound of your voice-; Ocean wave upon the sand; Calling for me now._ ”

“That’s not haiku. I mean, it should include a word indicating season. But then, you don’t have to, actually, some don’t. Sorry,” Jesse says, even as he wonders who Andrew was writing for.

Andrew laughs. “No, it’s fine. It’s horrible, like I said.”

“Did it work?” Jesse asks, curious.

“What do you think?”

“I think you never really needed a haiku to get anyone to notice you.”

“See now, there, you are such a terribly sweet person. Anyhow, I think I’m about done in. Early class tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

~~~

The next morning, they have Creative Writing: Introduction to Fiction and Poetry. Jesse is still somewhat undecided about his major, but he had kind of thought that he would end up with a degree in history with a view to maybe teaching it some day. Now, though, he’s wondering if maybe writing isn’t the way to go. He loves it. Andrew seems to like it, too. Jesse can’t quite tell how Emma feels about it though. Mostly she just seems vaguely amused to be attending classes at all. Except Human Society and Culture, but she says she has a mental block for any and all things anthropology.

Jesse doesn’t know if he’s imagining it or if it’s just that he’s noticing it now that Joe pointed it out, but it seems like Andrew’s touching him more. A hand on his arm to get his attention, a hand on his back, guiding him, an arm around his shoulder to steer him around things, a knee resting against his during class. Sometimes it causes his stomach to flutter. Nerves, probably.

~~~

Everything goes along well, even with midterms. Andrew clucks a little when he thinks Jesse’s staying up too late studying. Emma mothers them both when they catch a cold that’s going around. Emma may not seem the mothering type, but she’s pretty good at being comforting when everything aches. Andrew teases her when it becomes clear that Justin has decided she’s his muse and writes songs about her. Jesse’s a little hesitant to make fun since she can be a little scary, but eventually he has to when Justin writes about her eyebrows.

Jesse’s getting more comfortable, day by day. He can almost forget he’s the President’s son sometimes and just be. Until one afternoon just before Thanksgiving, when there’s a guy who’s ranting and raving about something. He lunges and catches hold of Jesse’s arm in a tight grip and says something about Jesse’s father that he can’t understand. He seems so angry. It’s only seconds before Andrew pulls Jesse away and the other agents get the guy subdued. Then it’s kind of a blur as he’s hustled off back to the apartment.

Andrew and Emma both ask if he’s okay. He nods and says he’s fine, he was just surprised. When all the agents convene in the living room to go over the incident, Jesse slips away to his bedroom, saying he’s tired. Jesse gets the bedroom door shut behind him and he leans against it. He can feel himself start to shake. After a minute, he gets down on the floor and makes his way under the bed. It makes him feel a little better, so he stays.

He doesn’t know how much later it is when Andrew knocks on the door. He doesn’t answer, hoping that Andrew will think he’s sleeping. The door opens and then footsteps rush in and Andrew’s panicked voice calls his name.

“I’m here,” Jesse calls out.

Andrew crouches down by the bed and Jesse can see his quizzical face. Jesse expects Andrew to ask what he’s doing or if he can come out or even if he’s okay. Instead, Andrew gets on the floor and wiggles his way under the bed with Jesse.

“You need to eat more,” Andrew says.

“What?”

“People tell me I’m skinny, but since this is a tight fit for _me_ and not you, well.”

“That’s kind of odd logic.”

“So, what are we doing under here?”

“I’m not sure what you’re doing under here, but it makes me feel better.”

“Better how?”

“Less… afraid.”

“I’m sorry you were frightened. That man should never have been able to touch you,” Andrew says, sounding guilty and maybe a little angry and a little sad, too.

“I’m okay.”

“You’re under your bed.”

“There are worse places to be.”

Andrews laughs and then quickly sobers. “I think I have to quit.”

“What? Why? Because of this. I can get out.”

“No, not because of this. I lied.”

“What, like on your resume? I’m pretty sure they check that out.”

“No. No, I lied to you.”

“About what? Reporting back to my father? I figured you guys did that anyway.”

“No! No, and we don’t. Nothing you say or do that doesn’t have a direct bearing on your security is reported.”

“Oh. Then what did you lie about?”

“When I implied that I didn’t have feelings for you because you’re too young and I’m Secret Service. You are too young and I am Secret Service, but that doesn’t seem to matter.”

Jesse’s mind is a jumbled mess of shock and _he likes me, he likes me._ “Oh, um, but, well, I’ll get older.”

Andrew laughs again. He reaches over and runs his fingers down the side of Jesse’s face. “Yes, you will.”

“Don’t quit.”

“Jesse-“

“Well, no, I guess you have to, right?”

“It compromises my objectivity, which compromises your safety. I can’t have that. I won’t.”

“I feel safe with you.”

“I’m sorry.” Andrew makes his way out from under the bed.

Jesse slides out and stops him before he gets to the door. “Wait.”

Andrew brushes a thumb over his cheek. He leans down and gives Jesse a soft, chaste kiss. “I can’t.”

Andrew leaves the room and Jesse puts a hand to his lips. He mechanically gets ready for bed and then curls up under the covers. Somehow, he feels more alone than he ever has.

The next day Emma sits next to him in his classes while Andrew sits at a distance. Jesse wonders what he told Emma. He wonders if Andrew’s told anyone he’s quitting. Jesse’s miserable. Joe asks him if they’d had a fight. Jesse just shrugs.

After classes, they head back to the apartment to pack. They head down to DC late afternoon and there’s a strained atmosphere. Both Emma and Andrew were supposed to have the Thanksgiving holiday off. Now, Jesse guesses that Andrew won’t be returning with them. They get to the White House and Emma and Andrew say their goodbyes to Jesse. Andrew gives him a small smile. Jesse doesn’t think what he gives in return could actually be termed a smile.

~~~

Jesse feels almost devastated. He knows his parents are worried about him and how quiet he is. The fact that he doesn’t feel like eating doesn’t help anything. His father sits him down on Saturday and asks him what’s wrong. The whole story just comes pouring out of him, not just the stuff about Andrew, but everything he ever held back from his father. And somewhere in all that, Jesse starts crying and can’t seem to stop. His father gathers him up and holds him and just listens and doesn’t say anything until Jesse’s finishes. Then his father tells Jesse that he does love him, the real him. And he’s proud of him and he respects him. His father tells Jesse that he’s sorry that he didn’t put Jesse first enough. Jesse’s tears finally dry up and he feels lighter than he has in years.

~~~

Andrew doesn’t come back with them and there’s a new agent, Kristen. Emma moves in with him and Kristen takes the apartment she had. Joe asks him about Andrew and Jesse doesn’t know what’s on his face, but Joe apologizes and no one else ever asks.

December goes by in a haze of papers and projects and finals. It’s weird how much he misses Andrew when he only knew him for a few months. It’s a constant nagging ache somewhere down deep inside. He ends up spending some more time under his bed.

Then comes winter break and it’s okay. His father makes time for him and they talk about things. It’s a little awkward at first, but they get better at it. He makes excellent grades. And still, he misses Andrew.

~~~

Justin makes everyone go out to dinner on their first night back for the new semester. Everyone’s laughing at Justin’s latest song when someone nudges Jesse. He looks up and Andrew is there.

“Would you mind if I joined you?” Andrew asks.

Everyone at the table goes quiet. They look to Jesse, waiting for him to say something. He shakes off his astonishment and says, “Uh, yeah, you can, um, join us.”

Joe speaks up, “Hey, Andrew, Jesse didn’t tell us much about why you left. Care to fill us in?”

“What did Jesse tell you?” Andrew asks, looking at Jesse.

“Um, actually, nothing,” Jesse says.

“Well, there were some issues. I went back in England for a while. But now I’m back and I’m enrolled at NYU again. Master’s program, this time,” Andrew says.

“Seriously?” Justin asks.

“Yes,” Andrew says.

And then it’s just as if Andrew never left. Well, for most of the group anyway. Jesse’s kind of confused. He keeps looking at Andrew and every time he does, Andrew’s looking back.

When dinner is over, Andrew asks, “Can we talk?”

Jesse nods.

Andrew comes with Emma, Kristen, and Jesse back to their apartment building. Kristen heads to her apartment. Emma checks things in their apartment and then goes into her room and closes the door. Andrew and Jesse just look at each other for a minute.

“I thought you weren’t coming back,” Jesse blurts out.

“I wasn’t. Well, I was, but not for a while. I was going to wait, let you get a little older.”

“How old?”

“Well, first I thought twenty-one, but then it’s not like that’s some magical age or something. So then I thought, maybe two years would do it. In the end, though, I talked myself into waiting until you were nineteen.”

“Huh. So, what changed your mind?”

“I got a call.”

“Who from?”

“Your father.”

“What?”

“He said that yes, you are young, but you are an adult. He said that you’ve always known your own mind. Then he kind of threatened me with missiles if I hurt you.”

“Oh. That convinced you?”

“Well, that and the fact that I was miserable without you. I wasn’t really that hard to convince.”

“Now what?”

“Now I ask you if you would like to go to dinner with me on Friday. And I tell you I completely understand if Emma and Kristen have to be nearby.”

Jesse smiles. “I would like that.”

Andrew smiles back. “Good. I’ll come over around seven?”

Jesse nods.

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” Andrew asks.

Jesse licks his lips and says, “Yeah, yes.”

Andrew leans in and kisses him. Jesse kisses back. It feels like stepping off the edge of a cliff, but somehow he still feels safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The companion piece to this, Best, is in the next chapter.


	8. Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Companion piece to [Safe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11566722/chapters/25986963) (Chapter 7). Andrew's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [](http://rosepetalfall.livejournal.com/profile)[ **rosepetalfall**](http://rosepetalfall.livejournal.com/) mentioned a companion piece for Safe from Andrew’s point of view and I got inspired.

Andrew is shocked when he meets Jesse. He’d done his homework – watched interviews, read official reports, but most importantly got the unofficial notes from other agents. The picture he’d built had been of a smart, funny, shy kid with a tendency towards nervousness and insecurity. Also, nice had been brought up numerous times which Andrew had assumed was shorthand for polite, obedient, and undemanding.

And Jesse is all of those things, except for maybe kid. He is young and achingly innocent, but there’s an old soul in there. Plus there’s the odd dichotomy of a sweet, but not trusting, nature. And under all of that, deep down, almost completely hidden, pain and sadness and loneliness and a little anger and resentment. All of it wrapped up in a self-deprecating, neurotic, complicated package. It’s fascinating. But what really shocks Andrew is how physically attractive Jesse is, with his bright blue eyes, his sharp cheekbones, his pretty lips, and his soft curls.

Andrew feels protective right away, above and beyond what he should. It’s so easy to slip into caretaking mode, making sure he eats and gets enough rest. Emma finds it hilarious, telling him that Jesse isn’t a fuzzy baby animal. She comes over often to laugh at Andrew.

Andrew finds sitting next to Jesse in his classes interesting. Jesse is so very intent upon learning that it takes the red haired boy a week of trying to get his attention. Jesse becomes friends with the boy, Joe, and his group rather quickly, but for someone so likeable, Jesse always seems a little surprised that anyone wants to be friends with him.

~~~

At the dinner celebrating Jesse’s birthday, Joe pulls Jesse away to talk. Jesse is distracted afterward. Andrew wonders if maybe Joe asked Jesse out. It’s weird how unsettling that thought is. He remembers Jesse’s face when they’d talked about making accommodations for Jesse dating and Andrew had thought that it wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

When Andrew finds out the Joe thinks Jesse and Andrew are together, there’s a moment of longing before his professionalism reasserts itself. And then Jesse is so concerned about lying to his friends, even though Andrew is pretty sure that everyone would understand and accept it if it kept Jesse safe.

“I don’t think he’ll believe me unless I tell the truth. And it’s not fair to you,” Jesse says.

Jesse seems so worried about other people and their feelings, it’s very endearing. “I don’t mind if people think I’m your boyfriend, it makes my constant presence that much more plausible. It just doesn’t leave you with a whole lot of options if you want to date anyone.” No matter how unsettling it is, Andrew doesn’t want Jesse to limit himself.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“Why not? I mean, goodness knows you’re lovely. You’re smart and funny and quite attractive. Frankly, I don’t see why you’re not beating them off with a stick,” Andrew says, and it’s true, but he should be careful about what he’s saying.

Jesse goes completely red. “You, uh, you don’t have to say that,” he chokes out.

“I know I don’t. I’m saying it because it’s true. I’ll tell you something that I really shouldn’t, if I was a couple of years younger and not with the Service, well I would probably be writing you horrible haiku to get you to notice me and give me a chance.” Okay, that was not careful. What happened to the filter between Andrew’s mouth and brain? Except he suddenly realizes that he was lying by using ‘if’ and ‘would’ and ‘probably’.

“Haiku?”

“Hmm, yes. That’s what I did when I was at university to get someone’s attention. _The sound of your voice-; Ocean wave upon the sand; Calling for me now._ ” 

“That’s not haiku. I mean, it should include a word indicating season. But then, you don’t have to, actually, some don’t. Sorry,” Jesse says.

Andrew laughs. “No, it’s fine. It’s horrible, like I said.”

“Did it work?” Jesse asks curiously.

“What do you think?” Andrew asks, teasing a little.

“I think you never really needed a haiku to get anyone to notice you.”

Andrew almost puts a hand to his chest; Jesse is killing him. “See now, there, you are such a terribly sweet person. Anyhow, I think I’m about done in. Early class tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

~~~

Andrew touches Jesse a little more, not completely intentionally. He catches Emma giving him speculative looks, but honestly she’s just as bad when Jesse gets sick. They are both a little too attached to Jesse. Andrew has no doubt that Emma will deal with it. Himself, however… well, that remains to be seen.

Everything is fine, or maybe manageable is a better word. And then there’s an incident. At first, Andrew doesn’t think anything of the man coming towards them. Then the man suddenly starts ranting and Andrew moves toward Jesse, who’s only a few steps away. But the man lunges and grabs Jesse’s arm. Andrew gets in between them and pulls Jesse away.

They get Jesse back to the apartment. Andrew can tell Jesse’s shaken, even though he’s pretending otherwise. Jesse goes to his bedroom and all Andrew wants to do is go in after him and hold him and promise that it will never happen again. Instead he does his job and everyone talks through the incident – ways they could have prevented it, alternate procedures, any routines they should change. Andrew does his part, but he’s preoccupied with Jesse - what he’s doing, what he’s thinking, what he’s feeling. This isn’t good, he can’t do his job properly.

After the other agents leave, Andrew knocks on Jesse’s bedroom door. He doesn’t get an answer, but he needs to check, so he opens the door and Jesse’s not on his bed. Andrew rushes in and can’t find Jesse. He calls out Jesse’s name in panic.

“I’m here,” Jesse’s voice sounds from under the bed.

Andrew crouches down by the bed and looks underneath, puzzled. His heart breaks a little when he sees Jesse. Andrew gets on the floor and wiggles his way under the bed with Jesse.

“You need to eat more,” Andrew says when he finally gets settled.

“What?”

“People tell me I’m skinny, but since this is a tight fit for _me_ and not you, well.”

“That’s kind of odd logic.”

“So, what are we doing under here?” Andrew asks, already having an idea.

“I’m not sure what you’re doing under here, but it makes me feel better.”

“Better how?”

“Less… afraid.”

“I’m sorry you were frightened. That man should never have been able to touch you,” Andrew says, feeling guilty. And a little angry and a little sad, but trying not to let it show.

“I’m okay.”

“You’re under your bed.” Which doesn’t seem to Andrew like ‘okay’.

“There are worse places to be.”

Andrews laughs and then quickly sobers. “I think I have to quit,” he blurts out. And he’s right, he does.

“What? Why? Because of this. I can get out.”

“No, not because of this. I lied.”

“What, like on your resume? I’m pretty sure they check that out.”

“No. No, I lied to you.”

“About what? Reporting back to my father? I figured you guys did that anyway.”

“No! No, and we don’t. Nothing you say or do that doesn’t have a direct bearing on your security is reported.” Andrew wishes Jesse would believe that.

“Oh. Then what did you lie about?”

“When I implied that I didn’t have feelings for you because you’re too young and I’m Secret Service. You are too young and I am Secret Service, but that doesn’t seem to matter.”

“Oh, um, but, well, I’ll get older,” Jesse says.

Andrew laughs again. He reaches over and runs his fingers down the side of Jesse’s face. “Yes, you will.” But he’s still so young now.

“Don’t quit.”

Andrew wants nothing more than to stay here with Jesse, but he can’t. “Jesse-“

“Well, no, I guess you have to, right?”

“It compromises my objectivity, which compromises your safety. I can’t have that. I won’t.” Andrew won’t put Jesse at risk.

“I feel safe with you.”

That gives Andrew such a warm feeling, but he says, “I’m sorry.” Andrew makes his way out from under the bed.

Jesse slides out and stops him before he gets to the door. “Wait.”

Andrew brushes a thumb over his cheek. He leans down and gives Jesse a soft, chaste kiss. “I can’t.”

Andrew leaves the room. He calls Emma and explains to her that he cares too much about Jesse and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for him to be part of this detail anymore. Emma doesn’t argue, but she does commiserate. They make arrangements for the next day. Then he calls his supervisor in DC.

The next day Emma sits next to Jesse in his classes while Andrew sits with a view of the exits. He pushes everything out of his head and concentrates on his job. 

After classes, they go back to the apartment to pack. The trip down to DC is awkward and tense. When they get to the White House, Andrew says goodbye to Jesse and gives him a small smile. Jesse gives him a horrible parody of an actual smile back.

~~~

The discussion with Andrew’s supervisor goes better than Andrew had thought it would. Andrew doesn’t go into specifics, just says his objectivity is compromised. His supervisor offers to transfer him to a different detail. Andrew declines and says he doesn’t think he’s cut out for the job. His supervisor seems to understand and accepts Andrew’s resignation.

~~~

Andrew mopes around at home. He knows it troubles his mother. Andrew’s always been a go-getter. He can’t go and get this time. Jesse needs time to grow, experience life. Andrew will wait and hope that Jesse will still want him later. When Jesse’s twenty-one, that should be enough time. But that’s almost three years, so maybe twenty. He finally bargains himself down to nineteen. And then he gets a call.

It’s the most uncomfortable conversation he’s ever had and it’s only marginally due to the fact that he’s talking to the President. But he’s so happy afterwards that he doesn’t care. He’s essentially been given Jesse’s father’s blessing. He has arrangements to make.

~~~

Andrew takes a deep breath and walks up to the table with Jesse and his friends. He nods at Emma and she gives him a discreet thumbs up. He nudges Jesse. “Would you mind if I joined you?” Andrew asks when Jesse looks up.

The table goes quiet. Everyone looks to Jesse, waiting for him to say something. “Uh, yeah, you can, um, join us,” Jesse says.

“Hey, Andrew, Jesse didn’t tell us much about why you left. Care to fill us in?” Joe asks.

“What did Jesse tell you?” Andrew asks, looking at Jesse.

“Um, actually, nothing,” Jesse says.

“Well, there were some issues. I went back in England for a while. But now I’m back and I’m enrolled at NYU again. Master’s program, this time,” Andrew says, trying to keep it simple.

“Seriously?” Justin asks.

“Yes,” Andrew says.

Andrew can tell Jesse’s confused. He keeps looking at Andrew and every time he does, Andrew makes sure he’s looking back. Andrew will explain soon enough.

When dinner is over, Andrew asks, “Can we talk?”

Jesse nods.

Andrew comes with Emma, Kristen, and Jesse back to their apartment building. Kristen heads to her apartment. Emma checks things in their apartment and then goes into her room and closes the door. Andrew and Jesse just look at each other for a minute.

“I thought you weren’t coming back,” Jesse blurts out.

“I wasn’t. Well, I was, but not for a while. I was going to wait, let you get a little older.”

“How old?”

“Well, first I thought twenty-one, but then it’s not like that’s some magical age or something. So then I thought, maybe two years would do it. In the end, though, I talked myself into waiting until you were nineteen.” Andrew doubts very much that he would have lasted that long.

“Huh. So, what changed your mind?”

“I got a call.”

“Who from?”

“Your father.”

“What?”

“He said that yes, you are young, but you are an adult. He said that you’ve always known your own mind. Then he kind of threatened me with missiles if I hurt you.” Andrew is really grateful to the man for calling, even with the threat. And Andrew understands the impulse to rain down destruction upon anyone who would cause Jesse pain.

“Oh. That convinced you?”

“Well, that and the fact that I was miserable without you. I wasn’t really that hard to convince.” He really, really wasn’t.

“Now what?”

“Now I ask you if you would like to go to dinner with me on Friday. And I tell you I completely understand if Emma and Kristen have to be nearby.” Andrew hopes he doesn’t look as nervous as he feels.

Jesse smiles. “I would like that.”

Andrew smiles back. “Good. I’ll come over around seven?”

Jesse nods.

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” Andrew asks.

Jesse licks his lips and says, “Yeah, yes.”

Andrew leans in and kisses him. Jesse kisses back. This is possibly the least prudent decision Andrew’s ever made, but he thinks it’s the best.


	9. Probable, Even

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prompt](http://tsn-kinkmeme.livejournal.com/6467.html?thread=12885059#t12885059): Andrew/Jesse. Five times Andrew said things he didn't mean to say out loud in front of Jesse, and the one time he reaped the benefits anyway.

1\. “I think Eduardo is in love with Mark.”

“Really?” Jesse asks.

Andrew blinks. He didn’t mean to say that out loud. It’s just, the deeper they get into the script and the characters, the more he’s been thinking it. At least Jesse doesn’t sound skeptical, just curious. “Well, obviously I don’t know about the real Eduardo, but the written character, my Eduardo, it, it feels like he is.”

“Hmm. Well, if he is, Mark doesn’t know it.”

“No.”

 

2\. “I love your smile.”

Jesse looks over at him with eyebrows raised high in surprise.

That’s when Andrew realizes that not only had he said it aloud, but he’d said it in such a soppy, adoring way. “I, I mean that I really like it when you’re happy because friends should want their friends to be happy, right? I mean I would be a horrible friend if I wanted you to, like, frown all the time. Everybody should be happy when they can be and friends should be happy for them,” Andrew says, words just tumbling out.

Jesse looks a little confused. “I, I guess, yeah.”

“Good. Right.”

 

3\. “I miss you.”

“I’m right here,” Jesse says dryly.

Andrew tries to get his drunken brain in order. He hadn’t even had any idea that was going to come out. But the promotional stuff is pretty much over and even though the awards season looks like it’s going to give them plenty of chances to see each other, it won’t be quite the same and he’s already anticipating that. “No, I know, I know. I just, well, miss you when you’re not. Here, I mean.”

“We’ve seen each other every day for the past week.”

“I’m just, I’m a sentimental drunk. Ignore me.”

Jesse puts a hand on his arm and leans in close. “Okay, I’m usually pretty bad at it, but I promise I really will try to keep in touch.”

Andrew feels a little stinging in his eyes. He ignores it as he says, “I will, um, hold you to it, that, your promise.”

 

4\. “I wish I could rescue you.”

“Rescue me? Rescue me from what?” Jesse asks, his voice tinged with amusement.

Andrew hits himself on the forehead with his free hand a couple of times, glad that they’re on the phone and Jesse can’t see him. He shouldn’t have said that. He’d been thinking a lot about being Spider-Man and how it would be really nice to be able to help people when they need it. And then Jesse had told him about how today had been so bad, how anxious he’d been. Andrew is glad that Jesse feels like he can tell Andrew about it, be open and not too self-deprecating. Andrew had just wanted to help Jesse. He sighs. He might as well tell him. “I wish I could rescue you from your anxiety and your neuroses. Not like, forever because then you wouldn’t be you and I like you just the way you are. But like, just for a day, I’d like you to be completely free of worry or guilt. Just a day.”

“That’s really nice, but, you know, not even superheroes can do that.”

“I know.”

“Talking to you helps.”

Andrew smiles. “I’m glad.”

 

5\. “You should stay with me.”

“I have to get back. I have a meeting and my cats miss me. Or at least I think they do. They’re usually kind of aloof for a little bit after I come back from somewhere which is supposed to show me that they don’t need me, but is actually cat for ‘Why weren’t you here?’”

Andrew curses himself. At least ‘stay’ was one of the more innocuous things he could have said. “No, you’re right. I just like you being here.”

“Anyway, I’ve been here almost a week, aren’t you sick of me?”

“Never.” Wow, that came out much more fervently than Andrew had intended, so he tries to soften it with a smile.

Jesse smiles back. “It’s your turn to visit me next. You’ll be in New York pretty soon, right?”

Not soon enough. “Yeah.”

 

+1. “I really want to kiss you.”

“Okay,” Jesse says.

Andrew’s stunned. It takes a few seconds for that to work its way through his brain. He’d been thinking about it for awhile and hadn’t even realized he’d said it until Jesse had replied. “What? Okay? Really?”

Jesse gives an awkward shrug. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

Andrew crosses the few steps between them and gets right up in Jesse’s space. He cups Jesse’s face in both hands. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long. So long.”

“How long?”

“Since I realized Eduardo was in love with Mark.”

“Maybe you were, um, no, sorry, never mind.”

“Maybe I was what?”

“Projecting? Probably not. No, I just-“

“Maybe I was, a little.”

“Oh.”

Andrew leans in and kisses Jesse softly on the lips. He pulls back, just a little. “I think Eduardo is unalterably, utterly in love with Mark.”

“It’s possible that Mark loves him back. Or probable, even.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just reposting these here.
> 
> Let me know if you find any typos or if the format is messed up or if you think I need any tags.


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